Laura's Fruit Cage - Durham

I had a feeling when I arrived during Sunday brunch it would be busy. My feeling was spot on. I actually didn't have a hard time finding a parking space. As you walk in the front door, pay attention to the left. There is a small hostess station. A sign will tell you whether you should seat yourself or wait to be seated. Once you are either given a table or find a table, grab a menu and order at the counter. They have seating inside and out. I imagine if you come during a time where you seat yourself, you will need to find a way to claim your table somehow while you order your food. Luckily we were seated. They provide silverware and napkins at the counter after you order. I ordered the Rise and Shine breakfast. It came with eggs. I chose pork sausage, grits and a biscuit. The eggs were cooked perfectly. The sausage was delicious. The grits were the highlight of the meal. The biscuit was not as fluffy as I expected it to be. My daughter said her French toast was amazing. I know it was good, because she came home and told the rest of our family about it. The French toast was very thick, topped with fresh strawberries and the maple syrup enhanced the taste. They had to-go soups and desserts ready behind the counter. What a lovely place. Simple and good. This is my second time going and I will definitely visit again.

I miss the previous hostess manager! She was great and played a part in The Refectory being one of the best places in town to eat brunch. I'd eaten there for years, and she had the best approach and always seemed to be enjoying herself, and it was contagious!! Tragically for The Refectory, she's left, and so has her enthusiasm. The new hostess/manager has a completely different demeanor, and I have to say she falls short when it comes to pleasantness and concern for customers. The service has declined, with forgotten orders, and poor attitudes from staff, and somehow the food isn't as good. I recently had chili that I swear came from a can wasn't even chili really. Maybe the staff misses her too. I've gone back three times in the hope that it was just a coincidence, but it's just not as good as it was. What a shame.

I can't even wrap my head around this place. I'm generously giving two stars because the food was okay. Just okay. We went for brunch this Sunday. It wasn't busy. We liked the ambiance and were looking forward to the food we ordered: Huevos Rancheros 16 Lemon Ricotta pancakes 14 w a side of eggs 4 Breakfast bowl 13 It's like diner food. The huevos rancheros were good but really just like two chalupas with eggs, black beans and meat, with a bit of pico and jalapeño on top. Lemon Ricotta pancakes were just two regular pancakes missing the blueberries we had added. The waitress even argued that the blueberries were cooked inside, although you could clearly tell that there weren't any at all. They did remedy this by bringing a dish of blueberries, about an ounce or so, then bringing out a whole new order of pancakes, which was great. The thing is, each of those pancakes cost SEVEN DOLLARS each and while they were good, they were not anything spectacular for that price. I had the breakfast bowl. It was a bowl of grits with cheddar cheese topped with two eggs and some crumbled bacon-maybe the equivalent of one slice. For THIRTEEN DOLLARS. Hey, I love good food and will happily fork over for good food, but when I the food is basic and plain, I cannot justify it at all. We won't return.

The turkey Reuben was a little spicy. The challah cinnamon French toast was delicious, my child ate all 3 large pieces. The baked oatmeal, which looks a muffin, was a little dry. Service was friendly and they checked on us often, although the food did take a little while, but it was Sunday brunch. The pastries looked delicious and some great vegan options but we didn't try any. Next time!

My friend and I came here for brunch on a Saturday afternoon around noon. It was rather busy and we didn't have a reservation, so we were ok to sit outside on the heated open patio. It was a decent day for the winter, the sun was out. You get in the line, like at a cafeteria and order your food. At the start of the line are soups and other hot prepared stuff, then there is a dessert case and a pastry case....everything looked so good. You then order everything at the register, and they bring it out to your table. Fostine at the register was great! Neither of us had been there before, so she was super helpful helping us narrow down our choices! The Signature Lemon Ricotta Pancakes were love at first bite. I had them add blueberries and omg! The presentation is basic, but as good as they were it didn't need any extra presentation. My friend had the signature breakfast and subbed the breakfast potatoes for sweet potato fries, which was awesome that she could. I couldn't resist the desserts, so I ordered a ginger snap cookie and lemon bar for later. Both were yummy. Everything was very good. I'm looking forward to going back and trying more things. They are open for dinner too. I also saw that they have wine dinners, so I'm excited to check one out!